FAQs

Yes, fall pasture grass can cause laminitis. As the air gets cooler and the leaves begin to change, so does your pasture grass. The sugars in grasses rise as new growth explodes with cooler temperatures and fall rains, increasing the risk of laminitic episodes. If a horse looks foot sore contact your veterinarian and start soaking their feet in ice water as soon as symptoms appear.

We have probably all heard we should not place ice directly on the skin. This is true when treating horses, too. While ice freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit it is often much colder. Ice from a typical kitchen freezer can be as cold as -20 F.

Burn occurs when ice is placed directly on the skin. The skin begins to freeze, and ice crystals form within the cell structure causing damage, or “ice burn”.

To avoid crystal formation and ice burn, soak foot and leg injuries in a bucket of ice water. For injuries that cannot be soaked, place a layer of cloth between the ice pack and the skin.

Steroid induced laminitis can happen in rare cases. When evaluating risk, corticosteroids are comparable to other anti-inflammatories and the benefits out weigh the risks. For healthy adult horses the risk of steroid induced laminits is very, very low.

Horses with certain medical conditions, while the risk is still very low, are more likely to experience a laminitic episode. Those condition include, but are not limited to, horses that are overweight, are insulin resistant, who suffer from Cushing’s disease, or those who have had a recent occurrence of laminitis.

The frequency in which horses are vaccinated depends on their risk of encountering a large number of the disease-causing organisms. With regards to many respiratory tract diseases, risk is increased for most horses in areas where they congregate (shows, trail rides, etc.) For other diseases, such as encephalomyelitis (“sleeping sickness”) or tetanus, all horses in a given area are basically at equal risk. It is important to note that vaccines are ideally administered when the need for immunity against a disease is at its highest. For example, diseases carried by insects like West Nile, Potomac Horse Fever, and Eastern and Western Encephalomyelitis should be vaccinated against in the springtime each year.

That depends on several factors. What do you do with your horse? Does your horse travel to shows, events, or trail rides? How old is your horse? For a recommended vaccination program, please refer to our Vaccinations page.

Not exactly. Your foal will likely receive similar vaccines as your adult horses, but since they have not been vaccinated previously, they generally need at least two doses of each type of vaccine to develop the optimal protection. Please ask your veterinarian about the age at which your foal needs to begin vaccination programs. After an initial period of vaccinations and follow up boosters, your foal will join the rest of the herd in their normal schedule.